GUEST BLOGGER: Melanie Beck, Strumpshaw Fen Volunteer
As a volunteer on reception you always seem to miss the best wildlife moments as you are talking to visitors, telling them all about the fantastic things you might be lucky enough to see and the wonderful place Strumpshaw Fen is (not that I’m biased you understand!). For my colleagues Tessa, Caroline and I, it’s nice to be able to take a walk to see if we can share in some of the wildlife wonders for ourselves. OK, so not every walk will result in that memorable moment but just occasionally you can be surprised. On our last walk Tessa and I were delighted by not one but two such moments.
A gentle stroll brought us to the meadow gate where we could see the silhouette of a bird in the tree to our right. The sun was in our eyes so we assumed it was a woodpigeon. Realising it was a small bird of prey we attempted to identify it: a sparrowhawk perhaps or maybe a kestrel. The sun was not helping at all so we wandered into the woods looking for fungi. On our way back the bird was still in the tree with a few visitors watching. It was a female kestrel. She was quite happy looking over the meadow, not bothered by a small group watching her, trying to take photos. As we watched she flew to our left and landed on the branch of a tree that was hanging over the ditch. She posed beautifully for photos, the sun making her feathers glisten. Then she did something extraordinary. I knew she was watching the meadow floor, I assumed looking for mice or voles. What I hadn’t expected was for her to land, not six feet in front of the gate and without pausing deftly pull a worm out of a mole hill, a moment I was thrilled to capture with my camera. A small crowd had gathered but the gate between her and us seemed to tell the kestrel we weren’t a threat. She flew back into the tree over the ditch where she stayed for some time, taking in all around her.
The kestrel was beautiful and it was hard to take our eyes off her as it is rare to get so close to one. But Tessa suddenly called; she had spotted a stoat running along the far edge of the ditch below the kestrel. Our excitement attracted more visitors wondering what we were all avidly watching. It was a cheeky little thing, nipping in and out of the water, having a little swim and then running once more. A pair of mallards appeared from the near bank, barely moving in the water and it became clear what the stoat was up to – was he really big enough and brave enough to try and catch one? We were mesmerised by this little fellow. He knew he had an audience and he seemed to be teasing us, darting back and forth. Once or twice he looked directly at us, enticing us to photograph him. But the mallards were simply not phased - let him try and attack them, they’d give him what for! All the time this was happening, the kestrel sat in the tree watching. She made no attempt to move or to swoop for the stoat. Although it had been a beautiful bright winter’s day the light had begun to fade and it was turning distinctly chilly. Reluctantly Tessa and I headed back towards reception still talking about what we had just witnessed.
There is definitely an element of luck, of being in the right place at the right time when it comes to watching wildlife. Then sometimes events you couldn’t have imagined unfold in front of you. The unexpected takes your breath way, transforming a beautiful walk around a nature reserve into memories that you treasure.